Overview
- The FDA added a new outbreak cluster of 72 cyclospora illnesses to its active investigations on Wednesday and has begun traceback to find a product or location tied to those cases.
- Investigators are already tracking several concurrent clusters, including a large multistate outbreak epidemiologically linked to shredded iceberg lettuce supplied by Taylor Farms and served at some Taco Bell locations, which prompted a voluntary recall.
- Laboratory confirmation has lagged: the FDA removed a previously reported positive product test as a false positive and currently reports no confirmed Cyclospora‑positive food samples even as epidemiology and supply‑chain records point to the lettuce supplier.
- Official counts show more than 4,100 laboratory‑confirmed cases since May 1 with over 7,400 additional reports under review (total reports above 11,000), and Michigan is the hardest hit with about 7,664 reported cases and roughly 160 hospitalizations as of July 23.
- Public‑health teams say tracing is slow because symptoms often appear days to two weeks after exposure and the parasite is hard to detect, so officials urge careful produce handling, handwashing with soap and water, cooking produce to 158°F to kill Cyclospora, clinician testing for suspected cases, and some institutions to temporarily remove fresh produce from menus.